The Caligari Protest — Forgotten History

The bright marquee lights flash overhead as hundreds of uniformed men walk back and forth holding signs of protest. A line of police and navy guards armed with wooden batons stand between them and the theater, prepared to repel any attempt of disturbance. The crowd’s numbers are growing by the minute when suddenly everyone grows quiet. Several of the men have charged the line of officers and are attempting to bust their way through!

Caligari

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was a horror film produced in Germany by Robert Wiene. It was released in February 1920 and saw some limited success throughout Europe, horror becoming a popular genre across continent during and after World War One.

The synopsis of the film is that a young man named Francis and his fiance, Jane, go to a fair in their hometown. At the fair there is a tent show ran by a man called Dr. Caligari who shows off a somnambulist named Cesare, who has supposedly been asleep for all 23 years of his life and has some supernatural powers. Francis and his friend Alan visit Caligaris tent where the doctor awakes Cesare in order for them to ask him questions. Alan asks the somnambulist about his future to which Cesare replies that he will be dead before dawn. The next morning Alan is found stabbed to death. Francis suspects Cesare to be the killer and begins to spy on the two. The next night Cesare plans on killing Jane but upon seeing her beauty he decides to abduct her instead. Jane’s father is awoken by the commotion and he along with his servants and Francis chase after Cesare. Realizing that he is unable to outrun them while holding Jane, the somnambulist sets her down gently and continues to run. Francis and the police investigate Caligari’s fair tent but the doctor escapes before he can be caught. Francis continues to pursue Caligari and watches as the doctor enters an insane asylum. (Spoilers ahead for anyone worried about a nearly 100 year old movie.) Upon Francis entering the madhouse the audience discovers that all the events in the film were actually happening inside of Francis’ head, and that he is actually a mental patient of the asylum. Jane, Alan, and Cesare are also patients and Dr. Caligari is the director of the institution. A big twist not common at the time.

Original poster from the movie. Courtesy of Atelier Ledl Bernhard

The movie came to American theaters in 1921 but saw little success. American audiences did not enjoy horror movies like their European counterparts, instead preferring action, comedy, and romance. Plus there was a large movement against any German influence happening at this time.

Protest

During the late 1910s and early 1920s the American public was very discriminatory towards Germans. This stemmed from the recently fought war and propaganda that was spread during it. Many citizens did not want anything German “infecting” their country, therefore when the German made Caligari film came to American shores it was inevitable that it would stir up trouble. Many critics did enjoy the film and even praised it, with reviewer Fred. A. Miller even saying that “It brings to the screen an absolutely new technique, and its influence, I believe, will be tremendous.” However good reviews alone could not stop Americas malice.

The biggest reaction to the film happened in Los Angeles at the Miller Theatre on the afternoon of May 8, 1921. A protest of the first showing of the film was organized by the Hollywood Post of the American Legion, hundreds of uniformed men stood outside and picketed the theatre for six hours. They claimed that the film would lead to the erosion of American values and democracy itself. As the protest went on local police and navy provost guards formed a line in front of the building to keep protesters at bay, the peacekeepers eventually numbering 35 in total. Along with veterans several active duty sailors took part in the protest since some navy vessels were docked for R&R. American Legion leaders preached nonviolence but at around 8:00 PM two waves of men charged the line of officers in an attempt to enter the building. Using batons the guards were able to stave off both charges and prevent the protesters from breaking through. Now regular citizens had joined in, bringing the total number of protesters well into the thousands. There were so many people that sidewalk and road traffic was brought to a complete standstill.

Picture of the Miller Theatre in the 1920s. Courtesy of Los Angeles Theatres.

After failing to rush the theatre some protesters began throwing eggs at the building and police line, a few reports even claimed that these eggs were rotten. As this happened fist fights broke out between picketers and police. This was what the protesters wanted however as they planned to distract the guards in order to make another rush for the theatre. Fortunately, before they could charge again leaders from the American Legion calmed the crowd and at approximately 8:30 PM the Legion and managers of the cinema held a meeting where it was decided that they would stop showing The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and replace it with The Money Changers. Roy Marshall, who was Adjutant of the Legion’s Hollywood Post, rammed through the crowd with a step ladder, then standing on top of it announced their victory.

The crowd was mostly satisfied but some of the more spirited individuals were still itching for confrontation and wanted to tear down the electrified sign outside of the theatre that was still advertising the movie. The theatre managers quelled this portion of the crowd quickly by having their own workmen come out and remove the sign. The American Legion applauded the decision to replace the movie and urged people to go and see the new one. It does appear that it all worked out for the theatre in the end as it was filled to capacity for the next several days. Some critics continued to speak out in defense of Caligari but were mostly shunned by the general public.

Poster of the movie. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Other theaters across the United States attempted to show the film but were met with boycotts and further protests, though none as serious as the one in Los Angeles. Luckily the hatred toward Germans did not last long as Americans shifted their attention towards Jews and people of Asian origin. Caligari was later shown again with more success in 1927 when tempers had cooled.

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Personal Thoughts

This is an article that truly lives up to the name of this website as I had little to go on. Most of the information for this was gleaned from old newspapers and I only learned about the event from a brief section in a book I’ve been reading. I find it interesting to what lengths people used to go to when they disagreed with something. I think this event gives good insight into the minds of Americans in the early 1900s and how action oriented people still were. I would imagine a lot of that energy came from those still stirred up by the Great War as America did not receive the same terrible experience that countries in Europe did. In Europe most countries were tired of the war as countless men died and war dominated their lives, in America where they joined much later they did not see the massive casualties (by other countries standards) and were not eaten up by the conflict. Therefore I believe a lot of Americans still had a lot of reserve energy and excitement from the war years. Also what did the protesters plan to do once they were inside the theater? I really have no idea what they planned on doing once inside.